Intra-ocular pressure changes after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab

To evaluate the short-term and sustained intraocular pressure changes after intravitreal bevacizumab in patients with diabetic retinopathy.

The quasi-experimental study was conducted at the District Headquarter Teaching Hospital, Gujranwala, Pakistan, from January to December 2020, and comprised diabetic patients of either gender aged 18-60 years with indication for intravitreal bevacizumab. Intraocular pressure was measured at 5, 10 and 30 minutes for short-term elevation, and the patients were followed up weekly for one month to record any sustained elevation in intraocular pressure. Data was analysed using SPSS 25.

Of the 42 patients, 20(47.61%) were male and 22(52.38%) were female. The overall mean age was 52.4±5.7 years. Intraocular pressure increased significantly in the short term post-injection (p<0.001), while the difference was not significant in the weekly check-ups (p=0.264).

There was short-term rise in intraocular pressure after intravitreal bevacizumab, but no sustained elevation was noted over the following month.